Nutritional adequacy of four dietary patterns defined by cluster analysis in Japanese women aged 18-20 years

Information on nutritional adequacy and inadequacy of dietary patterns is useful when making practical dietary recommendations. We examined nutritional inadequacy of dietary patterns among 3756 Japanese female dietetic students aged 18-20 years. Diet was assessed with a validated self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ). Dietary patterns were determined from intakes of 33 food groups summarized from 147 foods assessed with DHQ, by cluster analysis. Nutritional inadequacy for the selected 21 nutrients in each dietary pattern was examined using the reference values given in the Dietary Reference Intakes for the Japanese (DRIs) as the gold standard. Four dietary patterns identified were labeled 'fish and vegetables' (n=697), 'meat and eggs' (n=1008), 'rice' (n=1041), and 'bread and confectionaries' (n=1010) patterns. The 'fish and vegetables' pattern, characterized by high intakes of vegetables, potatoes, pulses, fruits, fish, and dairy products, showed significantly the lowest percentage of subjects with inadequate intakes for 15 nutrients, except for the highest prevalence in sodium. In contrast, 'bread and confectionaries' pattern, characterized by high intakes of bread, confectionaries, and soft drinks, showed the highest prevalence of inadequate intakes for nine nutrients. The median number of nutrients not meeting the DRIs as a marker of overall nutritional inadequacy was five in 'fish and vegetables' pattern. It was significantly lower than nine both in 'meat and eggs' and 'rice', and 10 in 'bread and confectionaries' patterns (p<0.001). A dietary pattern high in vegetables, fruits, fish, and some others showed better profile of nutritional adequacy except for sodium in young Japanese women.